Body Compassion - Loving Body Scan

Hello and welcome to this guided audio meditation.

My name is Leila Regalado and I am so happy that you are here with me today.

To begin this meditation,

Please bring kind awareness to why you chose this topic and the positive or negative impact of any stories you believe in regarding this topic.

So now with that in mind,

Let's do a mindfulness practice called the Compassionate Body Scan.

You may want to sit on a chair with your back upright and yet relaxed or else on a meditation cushion or you may even want to lie on the floor.

Start by first getting in touch with your body,

How it feels right here in the present moment.

See if you can feel the weight of your seat on the cushion or of your back on the floor.

Just notice the entire field of the body sensation,

Any prickling,

Tingling,

Heaviness,

Pressure,

Lightness you may feel.

Just feel your body just as it is right now.

What we're going to be doing is moving our attention and awareness to different parts of the body,

Sweeping from the crown of the head down to the toes and back again.

As we go through different parts,

Giving ourselves compassion for any pain or tension we may feel there.

Or perhaps for any shame or feelings of inadequacy we have about certain body parts.

Starting with the crown of your head,

Just notice what sensations are there.

See if you can tune into that point just between the air above your head and where your skull starts.

Again,

Is there any tingling or sensation there?

If so,

Just notice it.

If not,

That is fine too.

Then become aware of your facial muscles.

We have hundreds of muscles in our face.

They work very hard for us,

Expressing our emotions,

Some of which are quite painful.

If you feel any tension or stress in any of your facial muscles,

Try relaxing,

Soothing them,

Maybe imagining carousing your face with your awareness,

Being grateful for how hard our face muscles work for us.

Then,

Become aware of the back of your head.

Any sensations there?

If you have any sort of headache or pain,

Just being kind,

Tender,

Compassionate,

To the fact that you aren't feeling perhaps as well as you'd like.

Or if no sensation is there,

Just feel whatever is happening right now.

Now,

Become aware of how your neck feels.

Again,

Any tension,

Burning,

Tightness.

Our neck often holds our,

Well first of all,

Holds up our heavy head.

And it holds a lot of tension,

Especially if we sit at a computer all day.

So just relaxing the neck muscles and soothing and comforting any points of pain you may be experiencing.

Dropping down into your shoulders.

A lot of emotional tension,

Fear,

Stress is held in our shoulders.

We almost always feel some sort of pain and tension there.

First,

Just notice what you feel.

What is the sensation like?

Is it hot?

Cold?

Tight?

Stabbing?

Dull?

Take a moment to have compassion for the stress of being shoulders in your body.

They take on a lot for us.

And just soothing,

Comforting any feelings of pain or discomfort you may have.

Then dropping down so that you're aware of your upper back,

Your shoulder blades.

Again,

Feeling any tension that's there.

Any discomfort allowing it be as it is.

Hot or cold,

Sharp or soft.

But using your awareness to acknowledge any pain and to soothe that area of our body.

I want you to mentally imagine getting a little bit of a massage there in your shoulder blades.

Then become aware of your chest area.

The seat of our heart where emotions are often felt very intensely.

Including difficult ones like grief,

Disappointment,

Sadness.

Try to notice how the physical sensations of your chest are manifesting.

Is the sensation moving?

Is it buzzing?

Is it tight?

Just simply notice what's there.

Relax around it and comfort yourself for any pain you might be feeling in your chest.

Just as a mother might care as a child who's feeling discomfort.

Take that same attitude with your awareness.

Then focus your attention on your stomach area,

Your gut.

A lot of difficult emotions get stored here,

Including fear.

We may have some judgments about our stomach.

Maybe it's not quite as thin as we'd like it to be.

First just focus on the actual sensations of your stomach.

Is there any movement?

Maybe you're digesting food,

Any tension,

Any physical discomfort.

Then also are any feelings coming up of inadequacy or non-acceptance of being exactly who you are in this moment.

Whatever arises,

You're going to take a very calm,

Comforting,

Loving stance towards this part of our body.

We often have such difficulty with maybe even sending some appreciation for the very hard task of digesting our food,

Allowing us to be alive.

Just relaxing and softening.

Then turn your awareness towards your lower back.

Every big muscles there needed to keep us upright.

If you feel any tension,

Try to relax that part of your body and consciously soothe and comfort any pains or aches you might feel.

It's hard to be in this human body with its limitations.

We can be kind to ourselves in this moment.

Then dropping down to our pelvic area.

Again a lot of tension,

Often here we don't even pay attention to.

We often avoid paying attention to this part of our body.

Just notice what feelings are there.

If there's any discomfort or tension,

Try to relax.

If there are any emotions that come up for you that are difficult,

Again,

Take a very soothing,

Comforting approach towards this part of your body.

Just allowing it to be as it is.

Then dropping down to your seat itself.

If you're sitting,

This will be easy because you'll feel the tension of your buttocks on the chair or cushion.

And also,

If you're laying down,

You'll feel tension there.

You're just noticing what feelings are there.

If there's any tightness or tension,

Soothing and relaxing this part of your body.

And if there are any emotional feelings associated with,

Perhaps,

Not accepting this part of your body,

Of not being exactly as you'd like it to be.

Which I think is probably all of us just having compassion for the fact that we're imperfect human beings.

Just accepting that with an open heart.

Let's move back up to our arms and we'll do them each individually.

Start with your right arm,

The top,

The shoulder blade,

The top of your arm,

The upper bicep.

What does your upper arm on the right side feel like right now?

We have big muscles there that often get strained lifting and holding things.

So soothing any tension or discomfort,

Relaxing,

Carousing with our awareness kindly.

Now your lower right arm,

Just gently noticing what you feel there.

Now your right wrist and fingers,

Your hand.

We have an amazing number of bones in this part of our body.

Especially with the increasing use of computers,

These get worked over and over and over again.

Just notice,

Do you have any tension there,

Any feelings of discomfort?

If so,

Again,

Just soothe and comfort yourself.

Have compassion for any pain you might be feeling.

If there is no discomfort,

Just rest in the peacefulness of being free of pain.

And shifting your attention to focus on your left upper arm and shoulder.

Noticing how your muscles feel,

Any tension that's there.

Kindly stroking your arm with your awareness.

Comforting yourself and dropping down into your lower left arm.

Knowing the sensations to be just as they are.

And your left hand and wrist,

Relaxing your muscles,

Appreciating how hard your fingers work for you,

The freedom it gives you.

Now shift your focus to your right upper leg.

A very big muscle here,

Our thigh muscle.

What do you feel right now in this area of your body?

See if you can relax the muscle,

If you notice any discomfort or tension,

Kindly soothing and comforting this part of your body.

Then moving down to your right calf and shin,

The lower part of your leg,

Feeling the muscles softening around any tension.

And then finally focusing on your right foot.

A surprising amount of tension and stress gets stored in our feet.

A lot of pressure gets put on them.

Take a moment to appreciate your right foot.

It allows you to walk,

To run,

To dance.

So relaxing and soothing any feelings of pain that arise,

Giving yourself a mental foot massage.

Now move your awareness to your left leg.

The upper half,

The thigh muscle softening around any tension.

As always if any emotional reactions come up of non-acceptance for a certain part of your body,

Giving yourself compassion for that,

Recognizing how hard it is to be in our competitive culture and dropping down to your left lower leg,

Your calf muscles,

Your shin relaxing,

Soothing and then focusing on your left foot.

Ankle The sole of your foot,

Your toes,

Just be aware of any sensations that are there,

Tingling,

Burning,

Pressure and soothing and comforting any feelings of discomfort or pain that might be there.

Now widen your focus so that you're aware of both feet moving up to both calves,

Both upper legs,

Up to your stomach,

Your chest,

Your neck,

Your head.

Just imagine the energy flowing out the top of your head,

Feeling the energy of life flowing through you,

Resting in awareness of this magnificent body we have,

Of compassion for its pains and appreciation for its wonder.

And whenever you're ready,

Gently open your eyes and maybe feel if you can feel that compassion for your body and if you want to give yourself a hug,

For you deserve it.

Namaste.